JP2014026133A - Photo-aligning device and photo-aligning method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a photo-aligning device capable of suppressing incident angles of rays within a specified angle without adjustment even when an irradiation angle of rays produces an error when light sources are exchanged, although the device does not use a complicated optical model.SOLUTION: The photo-aligning device aims to treat an alignment film. A light source part of the device includes: a rod-like lamp extending substantially parallel to the substrate of an alignment film and in a direction perpendicular to a conveyance direction; and a reflection mirror disposed to cover the rod-like lamp along a longitudinal direction of the rod-like lamp and reflecting light from the rod-like lamp toward a light guide part. The light guide part includes substantially rectangular plates having non-reflective films on the surfaces thereof, spaced at a substantially fixed interval in the longitudinal direction of the rod-like lamp substantially perpendicularly to the substrate.

Description

  The present invention relates to a photo-alignment apparatus and a photo-alignment method, and more particularly to a photo-alignment apparatus and a photo-alignment method for aligning a substrate having an alignment film by irradiating light.

  A polymer film called an alignment film is applied to a liquid crystal display substrate used for a liquid crystal display or the like. The alignment film is a film for aligning liquid crystal molecules in a certain direction. Since the liquid crystal molecules are regularly arranged, contrast is generated and an image can be displayed. Therefore, for the production of a liquid crystal display, an alignment treatment for imparting an alignment function to the alignment film is necessary.

  Conventionally, a method called a rubbing method has been used when aligning a liquid crystal display substrate. This is to rub the surface of the alignment film in a certain direction by rotating a roller wrapped with a cloth such as nylon while pressing it onto the substrate with a certain pressure. This pressure aligns the orientation of the alignment elements on the substrate.

  However, in the rubbing method, fine dust and static electricity are generated due to the friction of the substrate. This has been a factor in determining the yield of liquid crystal display manufacturing that requires a clean environment.

  Therefore, in recent years, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 have proposed a technique related to a photo-alignment method as a technique for aligning liquid crystal alignment without rubbing.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a technique related to a photo-alignment apparatus that efficiently performs photo-alignment of an alignment film of a liquid crystal display element. In Patent Document 1, a plurality of glass plates are arranged in parallel at intervals, and a polarizing element configured by tilting the Brewster angle with respect to the principal ray is provided on the exit side of the collimator lens or collimator mirror. An optical alignment apparatus is disclosed.

  Patent Document 2 proposes a technique for an optical alignment apparatus that can efficiently irradiate a large area with polarized light having a large extinction ratio without using a large and expensive optical component or a wavelength selection filter. ing.

JP-A-10-90684 JP 2004-144484 A

  In the first place, light (natural light) is oscillating in all directions. However, light that oscillates only in a certain direction is necessary for photo-alignment.

  Therefore, for example, in Patent Document 2, a polarizing plate such as a wire grid (WG) or a polarization beam splitter (PBS) is used to select a vibration direction.

  However, a rod-shaped lamp is often used for the recent photo-alignment. This is because it is inexpensive and easy to use. However, the rod-shaped lamp radiates light radially. On the other hand, some polarizing plates such as wire grids and polarizing beam splitters do not exhibit accurate and reproducible characteristics unless light is applied vertically. However, the polarizing plate is usually irradiated with light of various angles. For this reason, the polarization axis of light emitted from a polarizer such as a wire grid is shifted for light having a large irradiation angle.

  Therefore, it is desirable to irradiate the incident angle of the light within a certain angle before irradiating the light emitted from the rod-shaped lamp to the wire grid or the polarization beam splitter.

  In the optical alignment apparatuses of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, the optical alignment apparatus is realized using a complicated optical model. For example, Patent Document 1 has a problem in that the incident angle to the collimator lens must be adjusted with high accuracy, and the calculation of the incident angle and its error is complicated. Further, when the light source is replaced due to its life, an error caused by a slight positional deviation cannot be allowed, and it is necessary to adjust again each time the light source is replaced.

  Therefore, in view of the above circumstances, the present invention can suppress the incident angle of the light beam within a specific angle without using a complicated optical model, and an error occurs in the light beam irradiation angle when the light source is replaced. However, it is an object to provide a photo-alignment device that does not need to be adjusted.

  The present invention includes a liquid crystal display substrate having an alignment film, a transport unit that transports the substrate in a predetermined direction, a light source unit for irradiating light to the alignment film, the light source unit and the substrate. A light guide part for guiding light from the light source part to the substrate side, and a light guide part provided between the light guide part and the substrate for polarizing the light from the light guide part and irradiating the alignment film And a polarizing plate for processing the alignment film, wherein the light source section is substantially parallel to the substrate and extends in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction, and the length of the rod lamp And a reflecting mirror that reflects the light from the rod-shaped lamp toward the light guide unit side, and the light guide unit is substantially perpendicular to the substrate, and the longitudinal direction of the rod-shaped lamp is provided. A substantially rectangular plate having a non-reflective film on the surface is provided in the direction at substantially regular intervals.

  The “substrate for liquid crystal display” may be, for example, one obtained by applying an alignment film on the surface of two glasses sandwiching liquid crystal.

  “Alignment film” refers to a film for aligning liquid crystal molecule groups in a certain direction. For example, a polyimide film etc. are mentioned.

  The “light source unit” is composed of a rod-shaped lamp and a reflecting mirror, and irradiates light onto a liquid crystal display substrate. Specific examples of the rod-shaped lamp include a high-pressure mercury lamp and a metal halide lamp. Alternatively, a light emitting diode or a light source in which light emitting diodes are arranged in a straight line to form a linear light source may be used.

  The “reflecting mirror” refers to a mirror that covers a part of the rod-shaped lamp and reflects a light beam emitted from the rod-shaped lamp in a predetermined direction. For example, it refers to a bowl-shaped concave reflecting mirror. Further, the optical alignment apparatus according to the present invention may be one in which the reflecting mirror is installed so that the divergence angle of the light emitted from the reflecting mirror (the short direction of the reflecting mirror) is within 45 °. .

  “Polarizing plate” is a kind of polarizer and refers to a thin plate-like one. Specifically, a polarizing beam splitter (PBS), which is a prism having a thin film that transmits P-polarized light and reflects S-polarized light, or one surface of a rectangular transparent substrate made of glass or quartz glass, for example, aluminum. Examples thereof include a wire grid (WG) in which a large number of fine metal wires made of a metal material such as silver are provided in parallel on a single plane of the transparent substrate at regular intervals. In the case of a wire grid, the polarizing plate transmits linearly polarized light in a direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the wire grid out of light incident from the light source unit.

  The “transport unit” transports the substrate to the irradiation range of the light source unit. For example, it means a belt conveyor or a non-contact type conveying stage.

  The “light guide unit” is configured by a plurality of substantially rectangular plates, and regulates the incident angle of light applied to the polarizing plate. The incident angle of light to be extracted can be adjusted by the structure of the light guide.

  In addition, the light guide unit is configured by a plurality of cylindrical parts having a polygonal or circular cross section, the central axis of the cylinder is substantially perpendicular to the substrate, and a non-reflective film is provided on a surface forming the cylinder It is good. The light guide unit has a plurality of cylinders, for example, by combining a plate arranged in a direction substantially perpendicular to the light source unit and a plate arranged in a direction substantially parallel to the light source unit. It is good also as what comprises a part. Further, the cross section of the cylindrical portion may be a polygon including a regular hexagon or regular octagon having a honeycomb structure.

  The light guide has a plurality of protrusions on the inner surface of the plate or cylinder, and the protrusions are covered with a non-reflective film so that the top surface reflects light and the bottom surface absorbs light. It is good also as a structure.

  “Protrusions” refer to materials having a high reflectance applied to the top surface and a low reflectance material applied to the bottom surface. For example, it is possible to have a reflecting mirror on the top surface and a non-reflective film on the bottom surface.

  In the present invention, the light source unit may include a plurality of bar-shaped lights.

  “Non-reflective film” refers to a material that has low reflectivity and absorbs light irradiated in a film shape. A reflectance of less than 5% may be used. Specifically, black nickel or the like is vacuum-deposited or plated and grown.

  In addition, the photo-alignment method according to the present invention includes a step of forming a polymer layer on a substrate and a wire grid polarizing plate disposed above the polymer layer, and a light guide unit provided above the wire grid polarizing plate. Irradiating the polymer layer with ultraviolet rays from above the portion to form an alignment film having a predetermined orientation direction of the polymer layer, wherein the polymer layer is irradiated from the light guide portion The antireflective film provided on the surface of the light guide part absorbs the ultraviolet rays irradiated to the polymer layer at an angle larger than 45 degrees so that the ultraviolet rays are irradiated at an angle of 45 degrees or less with respect to the perpendicular of the polymer layer.

  In the optical alignment apparatus of the present invention, the light guide section is provided substantially at a regular interval in the longitudinal direction of the rod-shaped lamp substantially perpendicular to the substrate, and includes a substantially rectangular plate having a nonreflective film on the surface. By adjusting the interval and the length of the light portion, the incident angle of the light beam can be suppressed within a specific angle without using a complicated optical system.

  Further, in the photo-alignment device according to the present invention, the light guide portion is composed of a plurality of tube portions having a polygonal or circular cross section, and the center axis of the tube is substantially perpendicular to the substrate to form a tube. Even when the incident angle to the polarizing plate in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the light source section must be taken into account when providing an anti-reflective film on the surface to be irradiated, light is applied to the polarizing plate with a light beam having an appropriate incident angle. Irradiation becomes possible.

  Moreover, in the photo-alignment apparatus according to the present invention, the light guide unit has a plurality of protrusions on the inner surface of the plate or the cylinder part, and the protrusions reflect light on the top surface and absorb light on the bottom surface. When covered with such a non-reflective film, more light rays can be emitted from the light guide unit while limiting the incident angle of the light rays incident on the polarizing plate.

  The photo-alignment method according to the present invention is a non-reflective film provided on the surface of the light guide so that ultraviolet rays applied to the polymer layer from the light guide are irradiated at an angle of 45 degrees or less with respect to the normal of the polymer layer. However, when absorbing ultraviolet rays that irradiate the polymer layer at an angle greater than 45 degrees, the polarization characteristics of the wire grid polarizer can be accurately measured even when a light source that radiates light rays like the rod-shaped lamp 101 is used. It can be pulled out.

The figure which shows the optical orientation apparatus based on the 1st Embodiment of this invention Sectional drawing of the light guide part which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. Processing flow of optical alignment apparatus according to first embodiment of the present invention The figure which shows the optical orientation apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The schematic diagram of the light guide part which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. Sectional drawing of the light guide part which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. The schematic diagram of the light guide part which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

[First Embodiment]
A first embodiment of a photo-alignment apparatus 100 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows a photo-alignment apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment.

  The optical alignment apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment mounts a liquid crystal display substrate 401 having an alignment film, and transports the substrate 401 in a predetermined direction, and irradiates the alignment film with light. A light guide unit 301, a light guide unit 301 for guiding light from the light source unit to the substrate 401 side, and a light guide unit 301 provided between the light guide unit 301 and the substrate 401. The polarizing film 501 for polarizing the light from the light guide portion 301 and irradiating the polarizing film irradiates the alignment film. In the optical alignment apparatus 100, the light source unit is provided so as to cover the rod-shaped lamp 101 along the longitudinal direction of the rod-shaped lamp 101 and the rod-shaped lamp 101 extending in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction substantially parallel to the substrate 401. And a reflecting mirror 201 that reflects light from the rod-shaped lamp 101 toward the light guide portion 301, and the light guide portion 301 is substantially constant in the longitudinal direction of the rod-shaped lamp 101 substantially perpendicular to the substrate 401. A substantially rectangular plate 302 having a non-reflective film 303 on the surface is provided.

  A substrate 401 for liquid crystal display constitutes one of two glasses sandwiching liquid crystal, and an alignment film is applied on the surface thereof. The alignment film refers to a film for aligning liquid crystal molecule groups in a certain direction. In the first embodiment, a polyimide film is used as the alignment film.

  The light source unit is constituted by the rod-shaped lamp 101 and the reflecting mirror 201, and irradiates the liquid crystal display substrate 401 with light rays. Specific examples of the rod-shaped lamp 101 include a high-pressure mercury lamp and a metal halide lamp. Alternatively, a linear light source may be formed by arranging light emitting diodes or light emitting diodes in a straight line. In the first embodiment, one bar lamp 101 is used as the light source unit, but the light source unit may have a plurality of bar lamps 101.

  The reflecting mirror 201 covers a part of the rod-shaped lamp 101 and reflects a light beam irradiated from the rod-shaped lamp 101 in a predetermined direction. In the first embodiment, the concave reflecting mirror is used as the reflecting mirror 201 so as to cover the upper part of the rod-shaped lamp 101. As a result, of the light rays emitted from the rod-shaped lamp 101, when the vertical irradiation angle is 0 degree, the light rays having an irradiation angle of 90 degrees to 270 degrees are reflected.

  The polarizing plate 501 is a kind of polarizer and refers to a thin plate. Specifically, a polarizing beam splitter (PBS), which is a prism having a thin film that transmits P-polarized light and reflects S-polarized light, or one surface of a rectangular transparent substrate made of glass or quartz glass, for example, aluminum. Examples thereof include a wire grid (WG) in which a large number of metal wires made of a metal material such as silver or silver are arranged at regular intervals along a direction parallel to one side of the transparent substrate.

  In order to effectively utilize the polarization characteristics of the polarizing plate 501, it is originally desirable to set the incident angle to 0 degree. However, it has been found that, in the wire grid using titanium oxide, the same effect can be obtained if it is within approximately 45 degrees, although it depends on the manufacturing accuracy. In addition, it has been found that, for example, in a wire grid using aluminum, good polarization control can be performed by suppressing the incident angle within 10 degrees.

  In the first embodiment, as the polarizing plate 501, a wire grid type polarizing element grid formed of titanium oxide is used. Therefore, in the first embodiment, it is desirable to configure the optical alignment apparatus 100 so that the incident angle to the polarizing plate 501 is within 45 degrees.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing a cross section of the light guide unit 301 in the first embodiment. A solid line indicates a light beam that can be transmitted through the light guide unit 301, and a broken line indicates a light beam that is absorbed by the non-reflective film 303 of the light guide unit 301.

  The light guide unit 301 includes a plurality of substantially rectangular plates 302 and transmits light having a specific incident angle. In order to make the incident angle θ of the light beam transmitted by the light guide unit 301 within 45 degrees, the length h from the upper end to the lower end of the light guide unit 301 is set to 1 with respect to the interval d of the light guide unit 301. It is necessary that the length is less than one. As a result, light rays having an incident angle θ within 45 degrees are transmitted through the light guide unit 301, and light rays exceeding 45 degrees are absorbed by the non-reflective film 303.

  Here, the non-reflective film 303 means a film that absorbs light from the light source unit irradiated on the non-reflective film 303. In the first embodiment, black nickel vacuum-deposited is used. However, the non-reflective film 303 may have a reflectivity of less than 5% as long as it has a low reflectivity and absorbs light irradiated in a film shape. For example, it may be formed by plating. However, the reflectance is not limited to 5%. Depending on the properties of the alignment film to be used, it is sufficient that the upper limit of the film is not exceeded even if it is reflected by 5% or more.

  The transport unit 601 transports the substrate 401 to the irradiation range of the light source unit. For example, it means a belt conveyor or a non-contact type conveying stage.

  Next, the processing flow of the optical alignment apparatus 100 in the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, when a polymer layer is formed on a base material (STEP 100), the rod-shaped lamp 101 emits light from the light source part (STEP 200). A part of the light beam irradiated radially from the rod-shaped lamp 101 is directly irradiated downward from the light source, and a part thereof is reflected in a certain direction by the reflecting mirror 201 covering the rod-shaped lamp 101. At this time, it is desirable that the reflected light is reflected so as to be irradiated below and in parallel with the light source unit. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the shape and position of the reflecting mirror 201 so that the reflected light is irradiated below and in parallel with the light source unit.

  The light beam reflected by the reflecting mirror 201 is transmitted through the light guide unit 301 (STEP 300). At this time, light rays having an incident angle within 45 degrees are transmitted through the light guide unit 301. On the other hand, light rays having an incident angle exceeding 45 degrees are absorbed by the non-reflective film 303.

  The light beam that has passed through the light guide unit 301 is applied to the polarizing plate 501. In the polarizing plate 501, only specific polarized light is transmitted and irradiated onto the substrate 401, and an alignment process is performed.

  The next substrate 401 is transported to a predetermined position (STEP 400).

[Second Embodiment]
A second embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  In the second embodiment, in the photo-alignment apparatus 100, a liquid crystal display substrate 401 having an alignment film is placed, a transport unit 601 that transports the substrate 401 in a predetermined direction, and the alignment film is irradiated with light. A light source part for providing light from the light source part to the substrate 401 side, and provided between the light guide part 301 and the substrate 401. And a polarizing plate 501 for polarizing the light from the light guide portion 301 and irradiating the alignment film, and for processing the alignment film. In the optical alignment apparatus 100, the light source unit is provided so as to cover the rod-shaped lamp 101 along the longitudinal direction of the rod-shaped lamp 101 and the rod-shaped lamp 101 extending in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction substantially parallel to the substrate 401. And a reflecting mirror 201 that reflects light from the rod-shaped lamp 101 toward the light guide portion 301, and the light guide portion 301 is substantially constant in the longitudinal direction of the rod-shaped lamp 101 substantially perpendicular to the substrate 401. A substantially rectangular plate 302 having a non-reflective film 303 on the surface is provided.

  Furthermore, in the second embodiment, the light guide unit 301 is composed of a plurality of cylindrical parts having a polygonal or circular cross section, the central axis of the cylinder is substantially perpendicular to the substrate 401, and the cylinder is formed. A non-reflective film 303 is provided on the surface to be formed.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing a photo-alignment device 100 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, in the second embodiment, the light guide unit 301 includes a plate 302a arranged in a direction substantially perpendicular to the light source unit and a plate 302b arranged in a direction substantially parallel to the light source unit. By forming a combined lattice shape, a plurality of cylindrical portions are formed. By configuring the plurality of cylindrical portions, it is possible to extract light rays having an appropriate incident angle even when light rays perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the light source portion must be taken into consideration. In this embodiment, the case where the cross section of each lattice of the light guide unit 301 is a square is described. However, the cross sectional shape of the light guide unit 301 is not limited to a quadrangle, and a regular hexagon or regular octagon of a honeycomb structure is used. The polygon may be included.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically illustrating the light source unit and the light guide unit 301 in the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, light other than the light passing through the inside of the grating is absorbed by the non-reflective film 303 (not shown in FIG. 5) applied to the inner walls of the plates 302a and 302b, and the polarizing plate 501 ( The process does not reach (not shown in FIG. 5).

  Other configurations and functions are the same as those in the first embodiment.

[Third Embodiment]
A third embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  In the third embodiment, a liquid crystal display substrate 401 having an alignment film on the photo-alignment apparatus 100 is placed, a transport unit 601 that transports the substrate 401 in a predetermined direction, and light for irradiating the alignment film with light. A light source unit, a light guide unit 301 provided between the light source unit and the substrate 401, for guiding light from the light source unit to the substrate side, and provided between the light guide unit 301 and the substrate 401. The polarizing film 501 for polarizing the light from the light part 301 and irradiating the alignment film is used for processing the alignment film. The light source unit is provided so as to cover the rod-shaped lamp 101 along the longitudinal direction of the rod-shaped lamp 101 and the rod-shaped lamp 101 extending in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction substantially parallel to the substrate 401. The light guide unit 301 is provided at substantially constant intervals in the longitudinal direction of the rod-shaped lamp 101, substantially perpendicular to the substrate 401, and on the surface. A substantially rectangular plate 302 having a reflective film 303 is provided.

  Moreover, in 3rd Embodiment, the light guide part 301 has the some protrusion 311 on the surface of the board 302 or a cylinder part inner surface, and this protrusion 311 reflects light in the upper surface, and a bottom face transmits light. The structure is covered with an antireflective film 313 so as to absorb.

  FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the plate 302 of the light guide 301 in the third embodiment. The protrusion 311 is a material in which a material having a high reflectance is applied to the top surface and a material having a low reflectance is applied to the bottom surface. In the third embodiment, the protrusion 311 has a reflecting mirror 312 on the top surface and a non-reflective film 313 on the bottom surface.

  For this reason, among the light rays irradiated from the light source unit and entering the light guide unit 301, the light beam that collided with the upper surface of the protrusion 311 shown by a solid line in FIG. Returned. The reflected light returned to the light source unit side is reflected by the reflecting mirror 201 and enters the light guide unit 301 again. Further, of the reflected light, a light beam that collides with the bottom surface of the projection 311 represented by a broken line in FIG. 6 is absorbed by the non-reflective film 313 that the projection 311 has on the bottom surface.

  As described above, the inner wall of the plate 302 of the light guide unit 301 has the protrusion 311, so that more light beams can be transmitted from the light guide unit 301 while limiting the incident angle of the light beam incident on the polarizing plate 501. Is possible.

  FIG. 7A schematically shows a method of creating the protrusion 311 on the inner wall of the plate 302 of the light guide unit 301 in the third embodiment. FIG. 7B schematically shows a bonding mode of the plate 302a and the plate 302b having the protrusions 311.

  The plate 302 is made of SUS (Stainless Use Stainless) in the third embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7A, the plate 302 is pressed by a press machine 399 having a jagged surface. 311. The plate 302 has an antireflective film 313 on the surface to be pressed. The antireflective film 313 may be formed by plating, for example. The opposite surface has a highly reflective wall 312. The wall 312 may remain a polished SUS surface. When the plate 302 is pressed by the press 399, the plate 302 is bent along the jagged edges of the press 399.

After being pressed, the surface of the plate 302 having the protrusions 311 is covered with the non-reflective film 313 on the pressed side, and the surface irradiated with light from above remains the SUS surface.
As shown in FIG. 7B, the plate 302a and the plate 302b created as described above are used in a state in which the surfaces having no protrusions are combined.

  In addition, the photo-alignment apparatus 100 according to the present invention may further include a filter for determining the wavelength irradiated by the rod-shaped lamp 101 between the rod-shaped lamp 101 of the light source unit and the light guide unit 301. In this case, the substrate 401 is irradiated with light having a certain fixed wavelength with a polarization axis in a certain direction.

  Other configurations and functions are the same as those in the first embodiment.

  In the optical alignment apparatus 100 of the present invention, the light guides 301 are provided at substantially constant intervals in the longitudinal direction of the rod-shaped lamp 101 substantially perpendicular to the substrate 401 and have a non-reflective film 303 on the surface. By adjusting the distance and the length of the light guide unit 301, the incident angle of the light beam can be suppressed within a specific angle without using a complicated optical system.

  Further, in the photo-alignment apparatus 100 according to the present invention, the light guide unit 301 is configured by a plurality of cylindrical parts having a polygonal or circular cross section, and the central axis of the cylinder is substantially perpendicular to the substrate 401, When the non-reflective film 303 is provided on the surface constituting the cylinder, even when the incident angle to the polarizer of the direction light perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the light source unit must be taken into account, the light is polarized with a light beam having an appropriate incident angle. The plate 501 can be irradiated with light.

  Further, in the photo-alignment apparatus 100 according to the present invention, the light guide unit 301 has a plurality of protrusions 311 on the surface of the inner surface of the plate 302 or the cylinder part, and the protrusions 311 reflect light on the top surface and the bottom surface. When the light is covered with the non-reflective film 303 so as to absorb light, more light rays can be emitted from the light guide unit 301 while limiting the incident angle of the light rays incident on the polarizing plate 501. become.

  In the photo-alignment method 100 according to the present invention, the light guide unit 301 is provided on the surface so that the ultraviolet light applied to the polymer layer from the light guide unit 301 is irradiated at an angle within 45 degrees with respect to the normal of the polymer layer. When the non-reflective film 303 absorbs ultraviolet rays applied to the polymer layer at an angle larger than 45 degrees, the polarization characteristics of the wire grid polarizer can be accurately extracted even when a light source that radiates light rays is used. Is possible.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Optical orientation apparatus 101 Rod lamp 201 Reflective mirror 301 Light guide part 302 Board 302a Board 302b Board 303 Non-reflective film 311 Projection 312 Wall 313 Non-reflective film 399 Press machine 401 Substrate 501 Polarizing plate 601 Conveying part θ Incident angle d Light guide Spacing h Distance from the light source to the lower end of the light guide

Claims (5)

A liquid crystal display substrate having an alignment film, and a transport unit that transports the substrate in a predetermined direction;
A light source unit for irradiating the alignment film with light;
A light guide unit provided between the light source unit and the substrate, for guiding light from the light source unit to the substrate side;
A photo-alignment device for processing an alignment film, which is provided between the light guide unit and the substrate and has a polarizing plate for polarizing light from the light guide unit and irradiating the alignment film. There,
The light source unit is a rod-like lamp extending substantially parallel to the substrate and extending in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction;
A reflective mirror that is provided so as to cover the rod-shaped lamp along the longitudinal direction of the rod-shaped lamp, and reflects light from the rod-shaped lamp to the light guide unit side;
The light guide section has a substantially rectangular plate provided at substantially regular intervals in the longitudinal direction of the rod-shaped lamp substantially perpendicularly to the substrate and having a nonreflective film on the surface. Orienting device.   The light guide part is composed of a plurality of cylindrical parts having a polygonal or circular cross section, the central axis of the cylinder is substantially perpendicular to the substrate, and a non-reflective film is provided on a surface constituting the cylinder. The photo-alignment apparatus according to claim 1. The light guide is
A plurality of protrusions are formed on the surface of the inner surface of the plate or the cylinder part, and the protrusions are covered with a non-reflective film so that the upper surface reflects light and the bottom surface absorbs light. Item 3. The photo-alignment device according to item 1 or 2. The light source unit is
4. A photo-alignment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of bar-shaped lights are respectively arranged in parallel. Forming a polymer layer on the substrate;
Place the wire grid polarizer above the polymer layer,
A step of providing a light guide part above the wire grid polarizer and irradiating the polymer layer with ultraviolet light from above the light guide part to form an alignment layer having a predetermined orientation direction of the polymer layer; A photo-alignment method comprising:
The non-reflective film provided on the surface of the light guide part is larger than 45 degrees so that the ultraviolet light applied to the polymer layer from the light guide part is irradiated at an angle within 45 degrees with respect to the perpendicular of the polymer layer. A photo-alignment method characterized by absorbing ultraviolet rays applied to the polymer layer at an angle.

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